Same Same but traveling

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Leaving home is never easy I did it at fifteen, moving out of my parents house only for the sake of proving my personal independence, my parents were my friends and besides I was just relocating down the beach. At twenty I set out for the west leaving friends and family behind, this time straight across the country on highway 10 headed for California and a fresh start. Now being half way around the world I realize there is something about being so far away that you know you can't always call or come running home that makes the whole process much different. You are suddenly hit with the notion that if anything happens you are pretty much shit out of luck. After living several years, thousands of miles from ''home'' I didn't see my parents or friends from Florida all that much anyway. Then yet again uprooting my new found home in Venice was bringing back lots of old memories and hardships, questions arose like what am I doing? Why am I leaving? I have the perfect life and I'm trading it for the unknown? I suppose I always have enjoyed the thrill of jumping out of planes. The sensation that reminds me that I'm alive and for how long who knows.
These days it's a lot easier with skype and facebook but it doesn't replace sitting on the couch in your parents house laughing about the memories you share or visiting friends you haven't seen in many months or years. I miss having conversations with my dad. Or just knowing Jade & the monks are around the block & I can skate to their houses anytime. I miss familiar faces or even being known by others in my town. It's funny when you start to meet so many other travelers along the path, you wonder if you would know them or even become friends with them if you weren't thrown together by the one passion you both share. Ultimately I know that everyone will still be there upon my return and as far as the rents go, they encourage me 100% to do what I love and what makes me happy. However it doesn't make me miss the lives I've left behind any less.
xo
H

Before I left on my expedition, my sister and I flew home to Florida to surprise our parents. It was both my mothers & sisters birthdays.

Jade & I at the top of Empire State building last winter for sunset. Magical.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

So remember when I said where you stay really affects how your time in one area plays out? Well when your home is your backpack and you sometimes sleep 4+ to a room just so it'll be cheaper. It does. Now seeing as how I could could care less about what the four walls (or sometimes just three!) that surround me look like, I've slept anywhere & everywhere. In Asia (including Indo) I have slept in rooms usually from about $5 usd to $1 usd. This can get you a range of amenities from the very basic crumbly room with a mattress on the floor, no sheets, toilet paper, towel, window, fan, ac, or bathroom. To what I consider to be a VERY nice room: A possibly off the floor bed with sheets, towels, soap, maybe a toothbrush, fan, ac if its really lux, hot water, a shower that doesn't make you feel dirtier after showering, wifi that works, a small window and the overall treat toilet paper! Some of the places you go you may think you can find a good cheap room, you will be shown a miserable hole you immediately decide you won't spend anything but sleep hours in. While other places can surprise you even with daily maid service! Give Hue, Vietnam for example, Hue is a want to be tourist stop on the route up or down the coast. It was the capital a hundred years ago and was engulfed in war not even that long ago. Now it is stuck between trying to give you the historical experience you are looking for and wanting to forget the past. Mainly a lot of war artifacts scatter the streets and you wonder what else there is to do. No markets to speak of, the citadel is the only site to see unless you want to drive for a bit, however there are lots of cheap cheap food & accommodation. Upon arriving we hop off the bus to be bombarded by vietnamese throwing their best english phrases such as ''Yes we have room'', as loud & fast as possible. I always am a bit nonchalant and see how low I can get the price. You know if they go down immediately they are probably over charging by a lot. When a room for two goes down from $10 to $8 without a haggle, you can get it for $6. Now this may not sound like a lot to most people but trust me when every dollar means having another entire day on the road, you look at things very differently! So that was Hue for me, not the best sites but a cheap room with maid service, a tv (a real treat if it works!) clean towels (sometimes they are not) soap, a decent bed, wifi and hot water. Also some good very cheap spots to grub right out our door, what else do you need in life, really?
xo
H

Our $4 each a night bungalow in Kep, Cambodia got **** stars for accommdation however the food at the spot was expensive & was a short hike to get to cheaper edibles.

Rabbit Island or KohTonsay I had heard was pricey in comparison but upon arrival we got a bungalow right on the beach for $4 each and cheap food was a stone's throw away, ***** stars.

Across from the beach in Muy Ne this was a sweet spot dominated by kite boarders and the cheapest place we found. It was Vietnamese New Year so prices went up a bit, we were staying three to a room for $8 usd total, then up to $13, but if you don't have the exact date your leaving planned out it's a bit of a pain in the ass to have the owner down your throat about when your leaving. Understandable was New Year's but never had to be so precise with dates before, plus food was pricey so only ** & 1/2 stars

This was the most disgusted I have ever been by a room. $2 usd in Phnom Penh, located lakeside because the lake is so polluted that it smells terrible so all guesthouses have moved to riverside. Which is MUCH nicer. This is what I saw out my ''window'', I shouldn't have looked. 0 st

*Obviously have tons more but will have to continue at a later date, I think I'm getting in over my head here, seeing as how I've transferred most of my photos to a hard drive and will need to convert back into my iphoto. I hear the Philippines has good wifi so should be able to get lots of work done there but my overall rule of thumb is never believe what you hear(:
xo
H

Found a lovely guesthouse on an ideal block in Chiang Mai, a clean and developed city with temples scattered around vintage clothing shops and tasty eateries, it definitely appeals to my pallet. Took a guided tour for three days of trekking, elephant riding, camping and rafting for the low price of 1,200 baht (about $36 usd) through the mountains. Actually saved money doing it. A bit of a touristy thing to do but hey who can go to Thailand and not ride an elephant once? Not something I will ever do again, sad in a bit of the same way visiting a zoo can be. Found the BEST bakery in all of Asia thus far. A little Thai woman makes homemade yogurt & museli, muffins, breads, and vegan treats alike. You can smell the bakery before you see it, I went twice a day while I was there.
Pai was one of my favorite places in Thailand by far. Staying on an organic farm helped to make my time there really special. Being the kings birthday all kinds of celebrations were taking place and it was a relief to stay a little on the out skirts of town. Every night the streets were filled with street vendors selling amazing treats of a wide variety and Thai tourists on vacation happy to cheer on their king. I still dream of the dumplings filled with black beans but sweeter than chocolate. We walked along as lanterns floated toward the moon, a contribution to the king. Sat by fires along the river and smoked in bliss. By day it was warm on our farm and rising early to hang in the rice fields and do yoga in complete peace and tranquility was a splendid way to start the day. Meeting new friends from all around the world we played music, danced, went to hot springs and strolled all over town to engage in the festivities. I will also be revisiting Pai on my second tour and am looking forward to seeing what it's like when it's not so busy!
xo
H

So did my best to do some updates on where I've been the past few months but find my mind wandering. It's too hard to live in the past. When I feel a good reflection coming on I'll post it but until then I may stick with the present.
There's nothing like having a friend come for a visit. Living my dream is something I couldn't have lived without but that doesn't mean I don't miss home, my friends and my family like crazy. Kaiwi flew into Cambodia in time for our year anniversary after many delayed visits due to work. I am so thankful that not only was he eventually able to visit but also for a good long amount of time. Having a piece of home with me makes it much easier to live without the rest. My last few weeks have been a love fest world wind of adventures shared between best friends and soul mates. He has gotten to see the best of Cambodia and travel south to north Vietnam with me. We are stronger than ever and I couldn't be happier.
xo

If you are traveling like me, for as long as possible with as little working as possible you are also living as cheap as possible. This means locating and executing the cheapest mode of transportation you can find. This also means it will probably not be the luxury ''sleeper'' bus but the local sit up bus, for many hours longer than some other more pricey modes of transport. A lot of these buses also have designated stops at certain over priced eateries where they benefit from bringing tourists. To save 17 baht on a yogurt I attempted to run across a 6 lane highway at night, just to be tapped on the should by the driver and shown a sign saying ''Do not cross highway, dangerous & you will be robbed'' haha. Had to give him credit for the hilarious signage. Also these buses do not arrive on schedule so you may find yourself dropped off in the middle of Bangkok at 5am with hostels all booked due to the start of busy season. A good reason to be less spontaneous and more organized, but what's the fun in that(; I enjoy a good karma check from time to time, if my karma's no good I will be left to sleep in the street, if it's good I'll find something after a bit of searching & toting my luggage in the darkness. Traveling is one of those things I think you do not realize until you do it, how much work it is. It is a full time job, especially if you want to do it even half decently. It throws all regularity and routine daily life out the window for the experiment of letting life take over you. I find even if you try to make loose plans, they end up changing drastically several times. That's definitely the attraction for me, not knowing where I will be tomorrow, a week from now or even a year.
xo
H

Traveling in rain is not ideal. When you have lots of bags & are traveling by open topped boat it actually starts to suck quite badly. Lugging around bags from place to place & looking for the cheapest spot to sleep becomes a pain in the ass, instead of being part of the quest like I usually find it to be. This is how it was from Koh Phangan to Koh Tao. Being still a bit off from a night spent dancing does not help. And just when you think the hardest part is over you see the large incline you must hike to get to the hostels a little off the beach, where it should be a bit cheaper. Luckily the first set of bungalows turn out to be owned by a rad Belgian guy & his Thai girlfriend. I grab a shack for $3 usd and get settled, not long after lying down my power goes out and I find myself in the dark as it's getting dark, mosquitoes the size of dragon flies biting my ankles, but the bungalow owners are on top of things and come by to drop off candles and ask if I would like a little pot to tide me over till the power comes back on. Umm... Yes please?! End up hanging & playing music with my new found friends till the wee hours. Bonds are formed and experiences shared. One of my reasons for traveling. Just realized it's thanksgiving and although there's no turkey, I have more to be thankful for than ever. On the road traditional holidays have no value and days all blend together. Heading back to Koh Tao on my second tour of Thailand after the Philippines in March.
For now it's on to Chumphon for a night just to break up the long trip back through Bangkok and up north towards Chiang Mai & Pai. Unlike the miserable boat trip to Koh Tao, the trip to Chumphon was perfect. The weather was amazing and I thought over & over how there's no place I'd rather be. Met some more friends on the boat and saluted them with a Chiang, Thailands' local brew. A lot of times I go to places with no expectations. I like it that way so I can't be disappointed. If it was just a vacation I suppose I would be let down but because this is life it takes a lot less to make me happy. Things like a good, cheap place to eat next door or a hot shower highly affect my visit. Sometimes I'm thankful for a place with not a lot to do so I won't feel guilty about not being super productive. This was Chumphon in a nutshell. Because it wasn't a huge tourist attraction I could find cheap accommodation & food as well as some extra amenities thrown in that you may otherwise have to pay for. Also refreshing to be the only white person in a certain area for a least a short time.
xo
H

Traveling Thailand, especially southern, in comparison to some of the other countries in SE Asia was very backpacker friendly & therefore easy! It seemed as though everywhere I looked there was something I liked. A cheap, cold coconut from a street stand for a buck, clothing that I thought was made for me, and tons of cheap hostels and food carts. I think they pretty much have it down as far as supplying the demand.
One of the first things I did after the typical descent into Bangkok was head south to Koh Phangan for the months full moon party. This journey took a series of three buses & two boats to reach, but a lovely trip overall. The perfect opportunity to meet & greet your neighbors who are duh, going south for the same reason! As you can imagine it was absolute debauchery. An island paradise packed with thirty & unders like myself dressed in day glows & paint. Fire dancers or fire jump ropes are not uncommon, jump on in and test your skills! Buckets are sold every 3 meters or less for a around 60 baht ($2 usd) but if you don't get one, one will be shoved in your face on the beach while grooving, by a stranger saying ''hi! bucket?!'' To which the only answer is taking a swig of the over sweetened but strong juice. Drugs are easier to find than food markets & in fact advertised in most areas of Thailand. Psychedelic signs litter every walking street stating ''Happy shakes, pizza, & brownies!'' or ''shroom shakes inside.'' The night may pass quicker than intended with a few enhancers so dance the night away and enjoy your trip! Taking valium on long bus rides is a must & sold super cheap everywhere. I will however throw in a disclaimer here: One of the reasons locals love you to pass out on longer ventures is so they can rip you off so if you plan to doze off have a friend watch your stuff or keep a foot on your belongings. Also & more importantly remember you are in a 3rd world country, check the drugs you are buying, where they are made, make sure you know what's in them & what's supposed to be.
The music on Koh Phangan beach does NOT end so one of my fellow travelers and newest friends' bright idea was staying one beach over in Haad Rin a 15 minute sweet boat ride away. Of course you won't make it home before the sun rises but when you decide your parties ready to mellow, there will still be a lot of die hards who feel differently so it's nice to cruise out to sea and home to a quiet bungalow overlooking a view you'll have to pinch yourself to believe. Relaxing all day in the ocean and drinking fresh juices is my perfect recovery method so try swimming & sunning before making your next move.
xo
H